Responsible Office: Office of Policy Coordination and International Relations

Subject: Special Oversight Board for Department of Defense Investigations of Gulf War Chemical and Biological Incidents

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the
laws of the United States of America, including the Federal Advisory Committee
Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Establishment. (a) There is hereby established the Special
Oversight Board for Department of Defense Investigations of Gulf War Chemical
and Biological Incidents ("Special Oversight Board"). The Special Oversight
Board shall be composed of not more than seven members appointed by the
President. The members of the Special Oversight Board shall have expertise
relevant to the functions of the Special Oversight Board and shall not
be full-time officials or employees of the executive branch of the Federal
Government.

(b) The President shall designate a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson
from among the members of the Special Oversight Board.

Sec. 2. Functions. (a) The Special Oversight Board shall report to the
President through the Secretary of Defense.

(b) The Special Oversight Board shall provide advice and recommendations
based on its review of Department of Defense investigations into possible
detections of, and exposures to, chemical or biological weapons agents
and environmental, and other factors that may have contributed to Gulf
War illnesses.

(c) It shall not be a function of the Special Oversight Board to conduct
scientific research.

(d) It shall not be a function of the Special Oversight Board to provide
advice or recommendations on any legal liability of the Federal Government
for any claims or potential claims against the Federal Government.

(e) The Special Oversight Board shall submit an interim report within
9 months of its first meeting and a final report within 18 months of its
first meeting, unless otherwise directed by the President.

Sec. 3. Administration. (a) The heads of executive departments and agencies
shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide the Special Oversight Board
with such information as it may require for purposes of carrying out its
functions.

(b) Special Oversight Board members may be allowed travel expenses,
including per diem in lieu of subsistence, to the extent permitted by law
for persons serving intermittently in the Government service (5 U.S.C.
5701-5707). The administrative staff for the Special Oversight Board shall
be compensated in accordance with Federal law.

(c) To the extent permitted by law, and subject to the availability
of appropriations, the Department of Defense shall provide the Special
Oversight Board with such funds as may be necessary for the performance
of its functions.

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of any
other Executive order, the functions of the President under the Federal
Advisory Committee Act, as amended, that are applicable to the Special
Oversight Board, except that of reporting annually to the Congress, shall
be performed by the Secretary of Defense, in accordance with the guidelines
and procedures established by the Administrator of General Services.

(b) The Special Oversight Board shall terminate 30 days after submitting
its final report.

(c) This order is intended only to improve the internal management of
the executive branch and it is not intended, and shall not be construed,
to create any right, benefit, or trust responsibility, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or equity by a party against the United States, its
agencies, its officers, or any person.